My Biggest Struggles With Living in Gatlinburg Revolve Around One Thing

I don’t want to make you think this is about me all of a sudden disliking living in Gatlinburg. If you’ve been following me for some time, you know this not to be true—at least from the impressions I leave from my posts. I think—and hope—I’m giving all of you a positive vision for this tourist town, and what it means for us to live in a tourist town. Not all of us want or have the opportunity to do such a thing. Heck, I certainly didn’t even believe we could or would ever end up living here. That’s why when I say we’re lucky and fortunate to be here, I mean it.

At the same time, what I also don’t want you believe is that Gatlinburg is some utopian lifestyle that only exists in your dreams. I like to show people that there are certainly obstacles to such a “dream” life—traffic, for one. If you come from a big city, this shouldn’t bother you—unless you’re trying to escape it. If you ask certain people, it’s the worst thing about the town. My opinion? After one year here, it’s an exaggeration. It’s not that bad. And I even grew up in a tiny town of 1,000 people with NO tourism whatsoever; spent my early adult years in a burgeoning, sprawling city, (Columbus, Ohio) and from there, settled in a small city of less than 40,000. So that makes me understand fully what I can tolerate in terms of traffic. Gatlinburg is somewhere in the middle when it comes to my life experiences.